


The Backyardigans

by LittleSass



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:40:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7041169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSass/pseuds/LittleSass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christen and Tobin enjoy a nice evening with their kids while partaking in their monthly family tradition, camping in the backyard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Backyardigans

**Author's Note:**

> I probably shouldn't have written this considering how much I work I have for upcoming finals. Oh well, too late. Hopefully you guys like this one.

"And that should do it." Tobin announced, picking up the mallet that had helped her get the last stake into the ground. 

"Looks good to me." Mallory walked around the tent twice before stepping inside to inspect it. 

They had to make sure that they set everything right. Last month, Tobin had forgotten to make sure that the poles were fastened correctly and the tent had caved in on them. 

"Good. Your mama would never let me forget it if the tent fell on us again." Tobin said, grabbing the tools and setting them off to the side of the patio. 

"I'm going to get Lauren and James to come help me get the sleeping bags and pillows inside. You should go help Mama." Mal said before heading inside in search of her little brother and sister. 

Over the last few years, the Press-Heath family had added two members to their family. Mallory Pugh and James Press-Heath.

Tobin and Christen had adopted Mal when she was eight years old, around the time their first-born, Lauren, was five. The Press-Heath's were in Colorado visiting Lindsey Horan when they first met Mal. 

It wasn't hard for Lindsey to convince Tobin to come help her out at the soccer camp she was hosting in her home state. The thought of helping young girls hone their skills was something that Tobin was more than happy to help with, so as soon as Lindsey had asked, Tobin had booked three tickets to Colorado. Instead of going out and exploring while there, Christen and Lauren had chose to help out as well. 

Lauren was an instant hit with the older group of girls who gushed over how adorable she was. She was tasked with the job of helping shag the balls when they flew out of bounds during drills and helping hand out shirts at the beginning of camp.

During the day, one girl in particular had captured the two grown women's attention. They were amazed at the amount of skill she possessed, but were also surprised at her more secluded nature. She was more on the shy side, standing on the outside of groups and waiting for someone to approach her as a potential partner instead of looking for her own. 

When the first day of camp was over, Press and Tobin had approached Lindsey and asked her about the girl who they couldn’t keep their eyes off. To their surprise, the woman had a lot to say. 

They learned that her name was Mallory Pugh and that she was a foster kid that took part in every one of the camps Lindsey held nearby. Lindsey had invited her to the training camp after she saw her playing in the small alley with a large ball made of wadded tape. When she asked the little girl why she didn't have a real soccer ball, Mal told her she had lost it and was afraid of telling her foster parents. Lindsey then gave the kid one of her own soccer balls and asked to speak to her foster parents about the possibility of joining her camp to which they happily agreed to. 

That started a close friendship between the two of them. Lindsey had almost become like an older sister to the young girl, always happy and willing to visit Mal whenever she was in town. 

While the adults were talking, they failed to notice little Lauren and Mal off playing to the side. They turned around to see Lauren chasing Mal around in circles. There were shrieks of laughter whenever Lauren got close, but Mal managed to step just out of reach. The two parents couldn't contain the smile as they watched Mal pretend to trip and fall to the floor while Lauren jumped on top of her giggling the entire time. 

For the rest of the month that the Press-Heath's were in Colorado (helping Lindsey with the other two camps she was holding), they spent almost every single day with Lindsey and Mal. They loved watching how Lauren and Mal interacted. It was almost as if they were best friends from the start, despite the age gap. Pugh didn't care about anything but making her new friend laugh as much as possible. There were days where Lauren cried saying goodbye to her friend at the end of the day because she thought she wasn't going to see her again. In the short time they had known each other, the two had formed a strong bond that Tobin and Christen were astounded by. 

With their trip soon coming to an end, Christen and Tobin had a long discussion about Mal while Lauren was asleep. It was a rash and, to some people, an impractical decision considering how little time they've known each other, but they didn't care. They weren't going to let this little ray of sunshine out of their lives. In a few short weeks, that little girl had gotten the entire Press-Heath family to fall in love with her. It was pretty unanimous that they were going to adopt the girl. And they've never regretted the decision ever since. 

As for little James, Christen and Tobin had decided that they wanted another kid about a year following Mal's adoption. After some debate, they agreed that Christen would also carry their second child because they didn't want to wait any longer and it allowed Tobin to finish her professional career playing in one last cycle of World Cups and Olympics. 

Things were a bit hectic with Tobin on the road so often and Christen dealing with two kids while carrying a third in her belly. Luckily, Christen had her mother to help a lot with this. It also could have been worse, but Mal had quickly warmed up to the family and was quick to help Tobin take care of a usually cranky Christen as a show of her gratitude for them taking a chance on her. 

Just a few short weeks after the World Cup, James was born, growing the family to a size of five. Christen and Tobin had fallen in love with him the moment that they laid eyes on him. As for Mal and Lauren they were in awe of their new little brother who Lauren said looked like a potato with arms and legs. 

Now years later, here they all were, enjoying one of their monthly family traditions. Camping in the backyard. They had an early dinner, leaving plenty of daylight for them to set up and play outside. 

After Christen had brushed Tobin off in the kitchen, claiming that she could take care of things, Tobin headed outside and with nothing else to do, found the closest soccer ball and started doing tricks in true Tobin Heath fashion. 

It wasn't long before she saw her kids coming out the back door arms filled with pillows, sleeping bags and anything else they needed. Once James caught sight of his mom with the ball, he quickly dropped the stuff in his arms into the tent and then sprinted to where Tobin was. 

"Watch Mommy! I've been practicing." James stated, running over to the next closest ball. He rolled it back onto his foot before popping it up in the air. He was able to juggle the ball a few times before accidentally kicking it too hard and out of reach. He immediately forgot about the ball and searched his mother's face for some sign that she saw what he just did.

"Good job, bud. I'm proud of you." Tobin said, ruffling her little boy's hair. She was then gifted by gleaming eyes and a beaming smile from the six-year-old.

"Can we play a game now?" James asked enthusiastically, pointing to the pugs and mini field they had set up not too far away.

Tobin nodded. "Of course we can. Let's grab your mama and your sisters."

The two of them waited patiently for Christen and the girls to join them. Well as patiently as an overeager child and overgrown child in a woman's body could. Finally, when the girls were done setting up the rest of the things needed for the night, they made their way over to the field.

"James, Lauren. Do you want to be our captains?" Christen asked her children, allowing the two youngest to be in charge. They both nodded. "Alright, you know the rules. Rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to pick first."

"Best of 3?"

When Tobin agreed, the two siblings turned to one another, putting their games faces on. It didn't surprise either parent how competitive their kids got even over the smallest games. Competition just ran in their blood. 

"Rock, paper, scissors!" James and Lauren shouted, tapping their fists into their opened palm two times and choosing their weapon of choice on the third count. 

After a game of many ties, James came out victorious.

"I pick Mommy!" James claimed, giving Tobin a huge high five when she made her way to his side of the field. 

"Then, I pick Mal!" Lauren declared, calling her adopted sister to her side of the field. It was no surprise when she picked the older girl. She most likely would have chosen Mal even if she had gone first. 

"Wow. It's elementary school all over again." Christen laughed. "Getting picked last, even by my own children."

"Don't be sad, Mama. You're on my team." James walked over and grabbed his mom's hand before walking her over to stand next to Tobin. 

"Wait! That's not fair!" Lauren complained, hands on her hip. Christen couldn't help but giggle at her daughter's stance. It reminded her too much of Alex Morgan everytime she used to complain to a ref about a bad call. "How come you get Mama and Mommy? That's two versus three."

"So?" James prompted, sticking his head out and dragging out the letters like the answer should be obvious.

"Why do you get one more person?"

"Because I'm littler, Lauren. Duh." Tobin couldn't help but let out a full-belly laugh at her son's reasoning. The attitude behind that last word had to be from spending too much time with his Auntie Pinoe and Auntie Kling. 

"Whatever, J. We're still going to beat you, right Mal?" 

"You got that right!" Mal agreed, casting a sly smirk to her parents as she threw her arm over her little sister. 

"Oh, it's on dear daughters of mine." Tobin challenged, pulling her wife and son into a little huddle as they began to discuss strategies. 

It was a hard fought battle between the two sides as they chose to go all in. There seemed to be no such thing as going easy on family when winning was on the line sometimes. It was mostly a back and forth game. Christen and Tobin had the advantage in experience and eagerness of a six-year-old full of energy; however, they lacked the energy the had in the old days. On the other hand, Mal and Lauren were young and fit with high soccer IQs that they hadn’t gotten from playing and watching some of the best in the world play.

"Next goal win!" Tobin announced, placing the ball in the center of their make-shift field after Mal managed to slot one past the three opposing players to tie up the game.

Before kick off, Tobin brought her team together to discuss one last power play. Christen stopped her a few times mid sentence when she saw her girls trying to creep over and figure out their secrets. She playfully shooed them away before turning back to her wife. When they all agreed on the plan, they dispersed.

There was an intense staredown as James stepped up to kick off. He tapped the ball over to Tobin before receiving it back and slowly taking his time, dribbling up the center of the field. In front of him stood his two sisters who determined faces on, signaling that they weren't going to go down without a fight. James smirked at them before turning his head side to side, locking eyes with each of his moms before giving them a nod. 

Just as James took off down the center, Christen and Tobin ran down the flanks before intercepting their daughters' runs and wrapping their arms around one girl each, effectively trapping the two. They watched as the girls struggled in their arms to get free while their son made his way to the mini goal. 

Being the little brat he was sometimes, James stopped the ball just before going in and turned towards his sisters with a cheeky grin. Satisfied with their looks of annoyance, he tapped the ball in before raising his arms in celebration. He ran to his mothers who have since released the two fuming girls. He jumped into Tobin's arms who picked him and raised him into the air as they all cheered. When he was brought down, Christen gave him a kiss on the cheek before putting her hand out for a high five. 

Christen turned back to her girls who were less than thrilled. "Don't be sore losers. Congratulate your brother." The two young girls mumbled barely audible praises, which did not sit well with their mother. "Do it right or else no s'mores tonight."

Lauren and Mallory turned towards one another and had one of those silent conversations. They playfully rolled their eyes before walking over to their little brother and giving him a pat on the back and sloppy kisses on the cheek.

"Eww! Gross!" James yelled, wiping at his cheeks with hands. 

The entire family busted out laughing at his reaction. They put the necessary things away before making their way over to the fire pit on the patio. James watched in awe as Tobin went about starting the fire while Lauren and Mal helped Christen get everything ready for s'mores. By this time night had fallen with the stars lighting up the night sky and the crickets chirping. 

They all took a seat around the now lit fire with marshmallows in hand and graham crackers and chocolate bars at the ready. Tobin and Christen sat one side of the pit with Christen's head on Tobin's shoulder and one of the midfielder's arm wrapped around her waist. Her other hand being used to roast marshmallows both for herself and her wife.

The former striker was quiet. Tobin looked down and saw her staring off. She followed her line of sight and happily sighed at the sight. 

A beautiful glow graced each of their children’s face as the fire continued to crackle. It highlighted some of their best features. The two of them watched happily as Mal told her siblings all the new things she learned about stars and constellations in science. Lauren was helping her little brother keep from burning his marshmallow, burning her own in the process as she was too focused on his. Mallory got up and grabbed the graham crackers and chocolate and helped James make his s'more while Lauren attempted to save hers. Their parents continued to watch in content silence as they told corny jokes or embarrassing stories of things that happened at school.

Christen and Tobin loved watching the three of them like this. It was one of the few times where they were able to put aside all fighting and just enjoy these trips. There was no screaming or yelling or hitting. It was just the three of them showing the love they all knew was there.

"We did good, didn't we?" Tobin asked, breaking the silence and bringing her wife out of her little trance.

"I'd like to think so." Christen answered, not taking her eyes off her children. After a few more glances, the brunette turned her head and pressed a loving kiss to the other woman's life. She pulled away and saw Tobin's lip stretching into that goofy grin she loved. "Thank you for doing this with me." 

"Doing what?"

"Life. Marriage, kids, all of this. Thank you for being by my side throughout it all."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

When it started to get late, the five of them crawled into their tent. They had decided to unzip all of the sleeping bags and lay them out as a comforter. This way they could also all cuddle together, which is exactly what James did the moment they were all settled. He crawled in between his moms before cuddling into Tobin's side. 

The midfielder smiled lightly, pressing a light kiss to his head and pulling the little boy closer. Her smile grew even larger when James took the hand closest to him and started playing with her fingers. It was something that he loved to do since he was a baby. He used to only fall asleep when playing with someone's finger, usually it was Tobin's.

When the older woman looked up, she found her wife staring at her with such a content and peaceful look. 

"Have fun today?" She asked the brunette, moving her free hand to grab her wife's.

"Of course I did. Got my two beautiful little girls, my handsome little boy, and my gorgeous wife all right here. What more could I ask for?" Christen stated, leaning over just enough to press a kiss to Tobin's lips and then one on James' head. 

Tobin looked over her wife's shoulder to Lauren and Mal asleep with pinkies linked like they tend to do when sleeping side by side. She looked down at her little boy who had just began to softly snore, all tired out by the long day. Then she turned back to her wife who had a smile that she swore could light up an entire sky. 

"You know, I was thinking the same exact thing."

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think here or on Tumblr @littlesass. Please and thank you!


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